


Born of a Broken Heart

by orochisInebriation (asterCrash)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Fucked up romance, Mystery, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 10:37:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5160659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asterCrash/pseuds/orochisInebriation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Before we get there, promise me one thing, Jade?”<br/>“What’s that?”<br/>“Stay away from my mother.”</p><p>---</p><p>Rose Lalonde had always been secretive about her home life, but even she could not have known what awaited her and her friend at Rose's childhood home. Jade must fight not to lose herself to the lust of the women who surround her and discover the source of the nightmares plaguing the house before all hope is lost. She will fail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A brief warning before we get started.
> 
> This is not a happy story.  
> Good people will be hurt, for no other reason than they were there to be hurt.  
> Bad people will triumph, and they cannot be stopped.  
> If the thought of seeing a young woman reduced to the mewling slave of those who control her mind is too much to stomach, please turn back now.
> 
> This is not a happy story, but with any luck, it will be a sinfully enjoyable one.

* * *

 

“Before we get there, promise me one thing, Jade?”   
“What’s that?”  
“Stay away from my mother.”

Orange light of an early setting sun flared along the horizon. Jade held a hand up in front of her to obscure the rays and let her see the panorama of the valley below. She knew that these mountains were dotted with secluded villas, like the one they were travelling to, but she could hardly see any of them for the sheer volume of trees, resplendent in their autumn colours. The view panned away as the taxicab she was riding in rounded a corner, away from the cliffside and into the denser woods. The light was filtered by the trees and faded to shadow.

Jade turned away from the window and back to her companion, who was watching her intently. Rose rarely put on a serious expression when it wasn’t warranted. “What do you mean ‘stay away’?”

There was an almost unnoticeable downward tilt of Rose’s eyebrows as she spoke. “It’s nothing really, just try to stay out of her way.”

“I thought she was alright with me staying over?”

Her friend hesitated before answering. “It’s not that she doesn’t want you there. I just- I don’t want her monopolising your time, she can be fairly intense with new people.” Jade could tell something hid beneath Rose’s tone, something she wasn’t saying. She waited for any further clue as to what exactly Rose was talking about but her friend had chosen silence over elaboration. The cab rounded another corner and sunlight poured back in the windows. Jade turned her gaze back to the vista and wondered.

Rose was an intensely private person behind the snarky exterior she projected. Jade had never heard her mention her mother even in passing and knew only the smallest details about her friend’s upbringing. She knew Rose had never known her father and she knew the mountain home they were fast approaching was the only one Rose had known before meeting Jade at their university dormitory. Though Jade spoke endlessly of her home life with Rose and the many adventures of her youth, the fairer girl had offered almost no details in return. After a lengthy interrogation at the end of an all-nighter study session Jade had successfully dragged forth the confession that Rose’s only childhood pet had been a cat. Even that admission came at a price, Jade felt guilty for the week afterwards on learning that the cat had passed away when Rose was quite young.

The car rounded another corner and tilted down an incline, trees whipping past on their right briefly obscured the sun, light strobing into the backseat of the cab with each trunk they passed.

“I’m sorry about the imposition,” Jade offered. “If my grandfather hadn’t—”

“It’s okay, Jade, really.” Rose interrupted, mouth tilting up into a smile. She reached out over the backseat of the cab and Jade gladly took the pale hand in hers. “I’ve never had a friend stay over before. I admit to feeling just a tad nervous.”

Jade rubbed her thumb over Rose’s knuckles reassuringly, brown skin a contrast to white, clear nails contrasting purple polish. “I’m sure we’re going to have a blast!” She decorated her face with a trademark goofy smile and hoped it did something to ease her friend’s nerves. If Rose hadn’t offered at the last second to put her up over the semester break she would have had nowhere to stay within two thousand miles of campus. At times studying on the other side of the country hardly seemed worth the scholarship, but if she hadn’t have picked a place so far from home she might never have met her best friend. She couldn’t regret a decision like that.

Rose gave her hand a squeeze before letting go and turning to look out the window. “We’re almost there.”

 

* * *

 

Chill autumn air greeted Jade as she stepped out of the taxi. Beyond the imposing wrought iron gates, the driveway of Rose’s mountain home stretched out. The house itself was just visible at the end of the path, obscured by trees decorated in brown and gold and red. Rose settled the balance with the taxi driver-who wasted no time in departing as soon as he was paid-before joining Jade at her side. With the driver gone the gates creaked their mechanical way open, seemingly at no signal from Rose, letting the girls pass through.

Gravel crunched under the wheels of Jade’s case as she trundled up the driveway. She considered making a joke about how she used to think _her_ house was inaccessible before noticing her friend was distracted, staring off through the trees. She held her tongue for the moment, though stowed a smart quip for later, more revelrous times. She wasn’t sure why Rose was still so nervous. “This place is really beautiful,” she commented, trying to draw Rose back from wherever her mind had wandered. “I don’t think I’d ever want to leave.”

“It certainly felt like I was never going to.” Rose quipped back sardonically. She trudged along beside Jade with her duffel bag over one shoulder, eyes now staring straight ahead at the looming house. “Growing up here, I felt like my whole world ended at those gates. I remember being worried that if I stepped onto the road I might fall off the edge of the Earth. By the time I finished school I was just about ready to jump off anyway, just to get away.” Rose turned to give Jade a wary glance. “It’s a beautiful place, I agree, but trees and rivers and the mountainous wildlife aren’t much for company. I spent a lot of time here buried in books or talking to people online rather than playing outside.”

Jade was astonished. In the twenty metres of driveway they’d walked up so far she’d learned more of Rose Lalonde’s childhood than she had in the last year. She couldn’t find anything to say after so long waiting. Rose’s smile told her the slip was hardly unintentional. She was clearly making an effort to let Jade in beyond what most others considered an icy exterior.

“You’re going to spend the next two weeks in my childhood bedroom, Jade. I can hardly hold to the pretension of mystery much longer.”

The house came into full view as they approached it. It was some mashup of art deco and an older gothic style, though the effect made it look quite modern. Jade liked to pride herself on her knowledge of architectural styles (on her knowledge of all things, really) but this was certainly one of a kind.

As they climbed the steps up to the front door, Rose paused and turned back to Jade, helping her get her case up onto the landing at first but thereafter a genuine pause. “Jade, whatever happens, promise me you won’t think less of me after this stay. It seems odd to say, I know, but I’ve never had a friend quite like you and, well, I’m worried that—”

Jade didn’t let her finish before taking her friend in the biggest hug she could. “I promise, Rose. We’ll be buds forever, no matter how messy your bedroom is.”

Rose blushed somewhat on being released before clearing her throat and turning to root around in the flowerpots for the spare key.

 

* * *

 

On stepping inside, Jade initially saw only darkness. As her eyes adjusted, the small amount of light coming from numerous candles dotted haphazardly about the room became apparent, stretching out shapes and shadows of furniture around the entrance but mostly giving the impression she had entered an airless cave, untouched by the outside world until her intrusion. She jumped a little as the front door closed behind her with a bang.

In the candlelight she could still see the quirk of her friend’s buried smile, ever one to delight in the irrational fears of others. Jade punched Rose’s shoulder amicably, eliciting a small apology before turning back to take more of the room in. Without the light streaming in the doorway she could now see that most of the light in the room was coming from a fireplace, in front of which there was a long chaise lounge, presumably upholstered in leather from the way the glean reflecting off it, and a stout glass coffee table. To the right of the room was an open plan kitchen, complete with an ornate dinner table, illuminated by precisely positioned candelabras. The flames danced enchantingly in their holders and for a moment Jade found herself lost in admiring the flickering. Then she was blinded.

It took her a moment to recover from the room flooding with electric light, hand held in front of her face defensively. Standing in front of her, no longer hidden in the shadows of the room, was a tall woman with immaculate curling blond hair. Her eyes were squinted with the light, laugh lines evident at the corners to match the welcoming smirk on her lips. She looked like she was dressed for a New York fashion show rather than the home, a coat that boldened her shoulders as much as it hugged her waistline. The coat gave way to a skirt, split halfway up her thigh and revealing the black tights beneath. Jade’s heart stopped when she realised she was staring, and her breath caught in her throat as she realised that the woman was posing for her.

“Mother,” Rose greeted flatly, irritation already obvious in her voice.

“So good to see you again, Darling. I didn’t expect the two of you so soon or I would have tidied up.” Mrs. Lalonde lifted off the wall she’d been leaning on, heels clacking on the stone floor as she approached the girls.

“Odd, considering I distinctly remember you agreeing to collect us at the train station two hours ago.” Rose hid her anger behind sarcasm, Jade had long since learned, though to be fair she hid almost everything behind sarcasm so it was sometimes hard to tell.

“Was that what we agreed? Oh dear, I am sorry.” The smirk never left Mrs. Lalonde’s mouth as she lifted the glass Jade had just noticed in her hand and took a loud sip. “Is your friend going to have to introduce herself, Rose?”

Jade shuffled lightly on your feet as the banter continued between the two Lalondes, awkward before the weight of no doubt years of similar interactions. For Jade, there was always a rush of the alien at seeing other people’s dynamics with their family, trying to determine which behaviours were simply the norm for this group of people and which hinted at a strained affection. The distance of her observation was only broken by the older woman extending her hand to Jade with the formality of an introduction. “Roxy Lalonde. It’s a pleasure to meet you Jade.”

The offered hand was held with the wrist tilted down, leaving Jade little option but to awkwardly hold it as if she intended to press a kiss to the knuckles of her best friend’s mother. “It’s nice to meet you as, well Mrs. Lalonde.”

The older woman giggled slightly as her grin curled just a little higher, making her cheeks stand out favourably. “It’s Ms. actually, but please do call me Roxy.” The focus of her eye contact was forcing blood to Jade’s face, unused to being the centre of attention, unused to receiving much of any attention least of all from a woman almost painfully good looking. Her physical similarity to Rose certainly didn’t help matters. The shade of their hair, the crook of their grins, the contained spark of intelligence in their eyes, all these traits the Lalondes shared, but where Rose was soft curves hiding prickly thorns her mother was razor sharp angles blended down into the rounded lines of her hips and waist. She was the academic definition of classically beautiful. And she was staring at Jade.

It was fortunately not long before Rose ripped Jade from the locked gaze with Roxy Lalonde, though it felt significantly longer in the moment. Remembering where she was and what she was doing Jade went to pick up her case, finding Rose’s hand had beat her there and was already hoisting both it and Rose’s own duffel bag up. Jade felt some calm return to her as she bickered with her friend about who would carry what and whether it was impolite to allow a guest to carry her own luggage. Eventually the two ascended the stairs giggling, having agreed that Jade should carry Rose’s bags and vice versa as this was clearly the most logical and fair solution. They left Rose’s mother behind in the living room, to her own devices, and Jade prayed her first impression had not been a poor one. She understood now what Rose had meant when she described her mother as intense-the memory of her piercing eyes still lingered with Jade as a flush on her skin-but she didn’t understand why Rose felt the need to warn her off. Hopefully Rose in her growing openness would elaborate before the stay was over, or before Jade found out for herself.


	2. Chapter 2

The first things Jade noticed on waking was how dry her throat was, and that it was hard to breathe. Her eyes opened in darkness while she swallowed at nothing, waiting for saliva to ease the passage down. Relief came after a few seconds and with a deep breath in she could relax, though not enough for sleep to take her again. She still felt the shiver of peculiar dreams, and a growing thirst, neither making sleep seem desirable just at this second. She listened to the sounds of the room, the mechanical ticking of a clock, the rustling of leaves outside the window and the sure, steady breathing of Rose, still sleeping peacefully on her bed. Jade sat up on her mattress, situated on the floor and uncovered herself as quietly as she could.

Candles still lit the main room but they now burned low and many had gone out. The fire still crackled in its place, but only embers remained where flames had been before. She revised her initial assessment of the Lalonde living room from ‘elegant’ to ‘creepy’. To be fair, as adventurous as she was, few places didn’t creep Jade out at three in the morning, which was fine, bravery couldn’t exist without fear and Jade would certainly count herself a brave person. There was a miasma to the room that certainly helped her feel a little braver for venturing out, like incense made to smell of dead flowers.

Her bare foot slipped through the air and for a moment her sense of balance lurched horribly forward. She struck out a hand and managed to grasp the bannister of the staircase she’d almost fallen down. It would have been an embarrassing tumble to take, given Rose warned her about the stairs. Sightlessly, Jade padded her way down the steps, holding onto the railing and seeking out each new step with her feet one at a time. At the base of the staircase her feet landed on cold stone instead of soft carpet and she turned towards where she remembered the kitchen was.

She hunted around with her fingertips, tracing along the wall in search of a light switch. Instead of finding the switch, another hand in the darkness found hers. Jade sucked in a breath through her teeth and tried to keep from jumping a metre in the air as cool fingers encircled her wrist and drew her away from the wall. Her eyes adjusted as she sought out the source of the hand, and in the dim light she made out the silhouette of Rose’s mother, a somehow darker patch of black in the dimly lit room.

“It’s awful late, darling,” drawled a voice, rendered almost sourceless by the echoing of the room. “What are you doing out of bed at this hour?” The shape that might be Ms. Lalonde seemed to relax back. “Nothing naughty I hope,” the voice said with a grin made entirely of sound.

“I was thirsty,” Jade managed to stammer out. “Can we turn on the lights?”

“I prefer to keep them off. Let me fetch you a glass of water.” There were sounds as the shape turned in the darkness and retrieved a glass, then ran the tap to fill it. Jade felt unseen hands guide hers to wrap around the glass and she gladly drank. As she gulped down the water Jade felt invisible eyes boring under her skin as the shape stood still directly ahead of her, she almost fancied she could see them glinting at her in the darkness, two pinpricks of reflected light. She finished the glass under their gaze, still thirsty. “Would you like another?” The voice came again, somehow preternatural in its understanding.

Jade nodded once before realising that as at ease as Ms. Lalonde seemed with the lights off she probably couldn’t see in the darkness. “Yes, please.” She stammered out into the room.

The voice seemed to come back with a chuckle “Why don’t you try some of mine instead?” Her glass was taken away and another handed to her, she recognised the stem and cup of it as the martini glass Ms. Lalonde had held when she greeted Jade. She tried not to think about what kind of life a person has to live to have them drinking martinis in the darkness of their own kitchen at 3am. She’d tried some alcohol before, at parties, normally to try and break away from everyone’s perception of her as being innocent to the point of calling her childish. She’d never had occasion, however, to taste gin before now. 

After a sip at the bitter beverage she recoiled back, a shiver running through her body as the burn ran down her throat and stayed, clutching tight at her chest. A laugh broke out at her display and the glass was retrieved from her hand. “There, there, Jade. It’s alright, I’ll get you another glass of water.”

The tap ran again as Jade waited for the burning in her throat to stop. A glass was pressed into her hands, filled mercifully with regular water this time. She gulped it down greedily, a trickle running out the corner of her mouth and down her chin. Finished, she reached a hand up to brush away the droplets, only to find it held back. Strong fingers held her arm in place as another hand relieved her of the glass, Jade could hear it being placed away on the counter. She was aware of the shape in the room being much closer to her now, felt breath on her face in waves. Panic gripped her almost as much as the hand still holding her arm. She didn’t struggle because she didn’t know what was happening, as the sound of breathing drew closer. Her eyes must have been wide with fear but the reflections she thought were Ms. Lalonde’s steely grey eyes looked to be half-lidded.

Jade took a step back and tried to pull her hand away, but the older woman advanced on her in the darkness, shape much more distinct now that she was so very close. Her panic only grew as she tried to reassure herself that this was Rose’s mother rather than some stranger, the thought of her friend’s parent touching her like this brought shame into the storm of confusing emotions roaring through her. Eventually Jade found her back against a wall and her arm was pinned to it, held above her. She reached out to push back at Ms. Lalonde with her free hand only to find fingers lacing with hers and holding that hand out to the side. The breathing drew closer, Jade could smell the bitter flavour of the gin washing over her. Ms. Lalonde was now directly in front of her face, Jade closed her eyes in a fear she didn’t understand.

Warm lips closed on the skin at the corner of her mouth and she felt a tongue flick out to lap at the droplets of water where she’d let them run earlier. Another kiss came just below, then another, tracing along her jawline. Jade shivered deeply and her arms went slack in their holds. Ms. Lalonde let her right hand drop but kept her left pinned above her as she kissed her way down Jade’s neck. Jade’s breath caught in her throat as the older woman sucked gently at sensitive skin. She should say something, she thought, she should do something to stop this. A good friend wouldn’t just let this happen. Instead she moaned as her best friend’s mother bit delicately at her throat, nibbling her way back up the flesh.

Her voice echoed off the ceiling of the room and seemed to reverberate even more loudly than it started. The woman at her throat pulled back as the echo died away and brought a single finger up to Jade’s mouth. 

“Shhh,” she whispered in the quiet of the room. Somewhere in the house a clock ticked away, outside leaves rustled in the wind but no other sound was heard. The shape in the darkness leaned forward, planted its lips on the younger woman’s and kissed her. Jade stayed silent as her mouth was taken hungrily, lips moving without being told, giving herself to the kiss she didn’t want. She felt a tongue prying its way into her, and against her will she relented. It felt good to relent. She let herself be taken, felt a hand run gently up her side and did nothing to stop it as it cupped her breast through her pyjama shirt. She suddenly felt very, very underdressed in just an old shirt and underwear as a thumb ghosted over her nipple through the fabric. She was torn between blaming the softness of Ms. Lalonde’s mouth or the deftness of her fingers for what was happening to her, because clearly it was beyond her power to resist. She tried to rationalise it to herself, tried to promise that she didn’t want this. Her nipple stiffened against her shirt and she felt herself growing damp.

Another moan escaped her as she arched her hips helplessly forward towards the other woman hiding in the dark. Abruptly the kiss ended and she found herself once more with a chastising finger at her lips, demanding her silence. She felt her arm drop as the hand pinned above her was released. Fingers curled around her chin and tilted her up to receive an achingly short second kiss and then she was alone in the darkness, clacking footsteps echoing off into the depths of the house. She was alone and she didn’t know what had just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome!
> 
> As opposed to my normal method of writing this story has actually been planned out in advance, but that doesn't mean I don't still love audience feedback! Tell me what you like about the story so far and I'll try to make sure there's more of it later on. Have any ideas for where things should be going? Theories on the mystery of Chez Lalonde? Just wanna say hi? Leave me a comment, I love them all and it makes me write just that much faster.


	3. Chapter 3

Jade and Rose trudged between the trees, crisp autumn leaves crunching with a satisfying cadence underfoot. Every few paces Jade would jump out of her way to pounce on a particularly crunchy looking leaf, eliciting giggles from her companion. Jade beamed at the noise, Rose so rarely laughed this candidly and she was delighted to be the one to bring that out in her. Turning around she could only see the impish crease of Rose’s eyes, with most of her face covered by a hand. Jade impulsively pulled the hand away to confirm Rose was indeed smiling for her, perfect teeth set in plush lips painted black _warm lips closed on the skin at the corner of her mouth_ —

Jade turned her head away and held her breath. In a second the thought had passed and she could face Rose again. The young blonde tilted her head quizzically but when Jade didn’t volunteer anything she returned her gaze to the game trail ahead of them. A walk out among the scenery had been Jade’s suggestion as the girls had conversed over breakfast, discussing plans for the two weeks of their stay out in the mountains. Rose had begrudgingly agreed after Jade reminded her that her books would still be waiting for her when they returned but the autumn leaves would not be so patient. Walking through the trees Jade would reach out a hand to feel bark or pick up interesting leaves or swivel her head around wildly looking for a bird that had just called out. She looked something like an excitable dog, or so Rose teased her. In answer to Jade’s responding scowl she clarified that it was nothing to be ashamed of “I always did want a puppy.”

After some playful barking followed by laughter loud enough to startle a flight of birds into the air the girls fell back into a comfortable silence, stepping through the undergrowth at each other’s side, shoulders occasionally bumping together. Jade noticed Rose fiddling with the scarf around her neck but didn’t comment, Rose usually liked something to play with when she was thinking and she certainly seemed lost in thought now.

“Did you,” Rose hesitated. “Did you sleep well last night?” Her eyes were downcast at the leaves crunching beneath them, fingers tangled in the purple worms tasseling the end of her scarf.

Jade did her best not to tense up visibly. She kept walking, tried to control her breathing, tried to think of what to say. “Yep,” she lied. “Why do you ask?”

Rose stopped walking and Jade felt the prickles of guilt run all the way up her neck. Her hands found her pockets and hid themselves away, her shoulders begged her to hunch them. Jade scrunched up her eyes and hoped against hope she wasn’t about to turn around and see that sad look on Rose’s face. She felt a hand light on her shoulder and Rose’s voice, gentle in a way she’d not heard it before. “It’s okay, I get them too.”

Jade turned to see Rose looking at her with an expression she hadn’t see before, apologetic rather than the usual ironclad mask of her sardonic wit. “The nightmares,” Rose clarified, an eyebrow lifting upwards. The confusion in Jade’s face was obvious enough for Rose to notice, her own expression shifting yet again. “Oh, sorry, I assumed… Most of my life I’ve had these terrible nightmares and I— It sounds silly, but… no, nevermind.”

Jade leaned in closer as Rose avoided her gaze, looking down to the ground. Knowing that she wasn’t about to be interrogated about her whereabouts last night sent a wave of relief through her tensed muscles. The relief was quickly followed by nauseating guilt for having gotten away without confessing her sins. She did her best to shake that from her mind, her friend obviously needed someone to talk to and she would not be so self-absorbed as to leave her in pain. Gently, she picked up Rose’s hand and squeezed tight. Rose looked at her hand first, half in disbelief, before looking up to meet Jade’s gaze. Tears welled in the very corners of her eyes, adding a sparkle to the otherwise pale blue. The rumble of guilt awakened in her stomach as she realised just how beautiful the shorter girl looked like this, exposed for her to see.

“Tell me about it.”

 

* * *

 

 

The girls settled at an escarpment, looking out over the valley below. Both sat on the rocky outcrop with legs dangling over the abyss. Jade still held Rose’s hand, _for encouragement_ , she told herself.

“Since I hit puberty, possibly even before, I’ve suffered from nightmares almost every night. It took me a long time to realise that wasn’t normal, that other kids didn’t live in fear of falling asleep. My mom took me to a doctor for it, but short of having me sedated each night there wasn’t a lot of options. They’re.. vivid, like real life. I’ve been told they sound like lucid dreams when I describe them, but I never feel in control from inside.

“The weird thing is I haven’t had them in almost a year, not since I moved to the dormitories. I thought it was a coincidence, that I’d just grown out of whatever brain problems were causing them. Last night however, they were back, and now I’m convinced.” Rose squeezed Jade’s hand before continuing. “They only occur when I’m at home. I don’t know how that makes sense, I don’t know if it’s the atmosphere here or a gas leak, or, or something.” A tear stained her pale cheek and Jade wanted nothing more than to wipe it away. For now though, she just held on and listened. “There’s something wrong with that house, Jade. I don’t know what it is but whenever I’m there— whenever I’m there, I feel watched, like something’s waiting to eat me.

“I thought you must have had the nightmares too, the way you tossed and turned in your sleep, I thought it wasn’t just me. Maybe there isn’t anything wrong and I’m just crazy. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Jade let Rose bury her head in her shoulder as the smaller girl sobbed. Her mind turned over as she held Rose, lifting a hand to mechanically stroke her straight blond hair. _Had last night been just a dream?_ She couldn’t help but wonder. _If it was a dream, is that worse? Does that mean I wanted it?_ How could she tell Rose she dreamed of being kissed by her mother?

“I dreamed last night,” Rose spoke into the shoulder of Jade’s jacket, coldly, as if she was trying to sap all the emotion from her voice. “That I’d brought you along to a pit of snakes.” Her attempts failed and she choked back another sob. “And as the vipers coiled around your throat and choked the life from you I realised I was one of them.” Her voice became a thing of fear and sorrow, high and whining with pain. “And I crawled down your throat until you screamed me awake.”

 

* * *

 

 

If she noticed the girls holding hands when they returned to the house, Ms. Lalonde didn’t comment, though Jade soon felt self-conscious enough to let her fingers slip free of Rose’s grasp. After the verbal jousting of the last night, Jade noticed the Lalondes were much calmer in the afternoon, neither getting on the other’s nerves, Rose dropping the passive aggressive “mother” in favour of a simple “mom”, Roxy kept herself to the kitchen and busied herself largely with flipping through a small stack of scientific journals. Rose explained quietly to Jade that she only ever put on her Village of the Damned impression to get her mom’s goat, with the two of them sedate they looked like almost like any other family. Rose and Jade passed the time with some card games before curling up on either end of the lounge to read until dinner time.

Towards the latter end of the afternoon Jade found herself stealing what glances she could at Roxy— at Ms. Lalonde, as the older woman moved back and forth around the kitchen. When she wasn’t busy checking the state of the chicken or chopping up vegetables she would duck across to the other side of the counter to read another paper, sometimes carrying the journal back with her as she would split her attention between studying and dicing onions for some kind of soup. She was exactly as graceful as Jade’s first impression had conveyed, never seeming to stumble or hesitate as she brought the knife down again and again and again. Jade let her mind wander back to the night before, to thoughts of lips pressed against hers and hands seeking their way across her body. It had felt so lifelike, but Rose had described her nightmares as such, and on some level it was more appealing to think that the house simply caused lucid dreams than to believe Roxy— Ms. Lalonde, her name was Ms. Lalonde, had done those things to her. It was better to secretly want it than to be the one who let it happen.

She found herself staring, eventually, at the curves of Roxy’s body, at her cheekbones so high and sharp you could cut yourself on them. Jade didn’t think about her sexuality often, it wasn’t like she was beating offers away with a stick _tried to pull her hand away, but the older woman advanced on her in the darkness_ , but she knew her preference for women had been steadily growing since she got to college. Even so, none of her classmates or even the few teachers to catch her eye could match up to Roxy. The only one who could remotely compare would be Rose, with her perfectly groomed blonde hair and her devilish smile, but Rose was Jade’s friend, she couldn’t think of her that way if she tried. Or at least she had thought she couldn’t before today. Rose had always been just like her in her mind, a plain girl keeping to herself in the endless bloody free-for-all that was college dating. They’d talked about boys and girls, though Rose only ever assigned her most vaunted compliment of “aesthetically pleasing” to women, boys got the much more defensively worded “I suppose you could describe him as ‘cute’ if you were so inclined.” They’d never talked about each other, it just doesn’t occur to people when they’re such good friends. Roxy, however, was not her friend, and as uncomfortable as the thoughts were, it felt somehow safer to stare at the older woman with those thoughts on her mind. If they’d been back in their dorm and talking about Roxy Lalonde as if she were a lecturer, rather than Rose’s mother, Jade would have talked about how she could make a slouch look like perfect posture, the way her eyes glinted whenever something caught her attention on the page and her gaze narrowed, the way she trailed her fingers over everything she touched, like she was caressing a lover. Jade didn’t want to think these things about her friend’s mother but looking at her made it impossible not to. She was, as simply as one could describe, aesthetically pleasing.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner was served and Roxy’s laughter was infectious. Even Rose had to suppress a giggle behind her hand as the older Lalonde pantomimed out the story of one of Rose’s primary school teachers trying to insist that Rose’s poetry was “age inappwopwiate” and therefore couldn’t be displayed at the school’s art festival. She told the story with such over the top gestures and voices that Jade felt all the stress of the day melt away into the pit of her stomach. She went on to tell embarrassing stories from their family vacations, stories from her own days in college, even the bawdy tale of Rose and her first girlfriend being suspended for “inappropriate phythical contact on thchool property”. Jade joined in on the fun, recounting some of her adventures with Rose in their first year around the dormitories, Rose often feeling the need to correct the tale where inaccuracies popped up, or simply where it was most humourous to do so.

As the evening went on and the tales grew somewhat raunchier, Roxy poured out some dessert wine in three glasses passing one to each of the girls and giving a small, silent toast before taking a sip from her own. The memory of her embarrassment last night at choking on a martini she may have only dreamt of burned lightly at the back of Jade’s neck and she found herself lifting the glass to her lips without thinking. She squeezed her eyes tight before knocking back the first sip of the yellowed liquid only to find that it was not bitter, as she had been expecting, but sweet and syrupy. She opened her eyes to find Rose’s bemused smile across from her, one hand propping her head up as she leaned on her elbow, the other loosely holding her own glass flute, which seemed to have lost half its contents in the time since Jade closed her eyes. To her right, she could see Roxy’s grin, rakish and full of teeth, so very white against even the pale pink of the Lalonde family’s skin. The older woman was leaning forward in anticipation, propped up on both elbows with fingers laced together under her chin, accentuating the Cheshire Cat grin adorning her face.

“You were saying?” She practically purred. “It’s not every day I get to hear such scandalous tales about my Rosey, what did the boy do next?”

Jade took a moment to recover, swallowing down on the sweet flavour of her drink before replying. “He didn’t really do anything, I’ve never see him so lost for words. I mean, it’s not like John and me weren’t speechless as well but at least we were on the other side of the room.” Roxy nodded eagerly from the head of the table, Rose simply palms her face but doesn’t indicate Jade should stop. “So Rose crawls right up his body, seriously I don’t know where it came from since I’d never even seen her touch someone before, and she gets to his face, right up close. John and me are just holding our breath on the other side of the room and my mind is racing because—”

“Jade, I’m sure mom doesn’t need to hear every detail.” Rose interrupted, cheeks flushing a bit, expression piqued. Seated next to her, Roxy leaned in towards Jade, rapt within the story. Surely Rose wouldn’t mind if she finished, Jade thought to herself.

“So anyway, Rose is right up there against his face—”

“I’m sure she’d be much more interested to learn about your little sleepwalking incident,” Rose cut Jade off with the clear clipped tone normally she normally advised for correcting lecturers back at college. Jade flushed at the memory, not sure whether Rose meant to make good on her threat.

“Oh?” Roxy drawled, an odd twang to her voice, she tilted in Rose’s direction. Jade found herself holding her breath.

“Well there’s not much to tell,” Rose smirked at Jade, “suffice to say, Jade didn’t realise her little problem would carry her out of her room and halfway through the halls at two in the morning.” Rose paused for effect, leaning back to take a long drag from her drink. She set her glass back on the table with a defiant clink. Jade’s cheeks were bright red but she couldn’t find the words to stop her from telling the story. “Of course that was the night that most of our college learned that Jade Harley sleeps in the nude.”

Roxy cackled and leaned back in her seat, Rose wiggled her eyebrows at Jade almost suggestively. Jade felt sweat prickle on her skin, uncomfortable at being the center of attention, unhappy at being humiliated anew by the reminder. Slightly hot all over at the memory of waking up exposed, of Rose huddling a blanket over her and practically dragging her back to her bed to sleep off the worst of the humiliation.

“You should be careful,” Roxy began, recovering from her exaggerated fit of laughter, “that you don’t walk around too much after dark around here.” She took a sip from her glass, eyes half-lidded in a way Jade had seen once before. “I’d hate to feel responsible if something happened to you.”

Jade flushed anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly had this chapter ready to post for months, only getting stuck on the last three paragraphs. sorry for the delay folks. Will hopefully post more soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Jade awoke again in darkness, remnants of a dream still clinging at the edges of her eyes, but fast disappearing. Outside, autumn winds rustled through the dying leaves which yet remained, picking up the fallen to toss about in great noisy gusts. Somewhere distant within the house a scraping knock sounded, branches banging against a window. Jade lay still, breathing hard and not knowing why. Sweat prickled her forehead despite the cool of the night air, her throat was dry.

_I could go to the kitchen again, _she mused, _I could, but I shouldn’t.___

__To her right, the sound of sheets rustling came from Rose’s bed. Jade kept quiet, not wanting her friend to know she was still awake and not knowing why. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, the whisper of cotton sliding over skin strangely loud in her ears. Rose lay bathed in moonlight, white sheets draped over the curves of her body, curled on her side. Jade fixated, staring in the darkness at her friend, unable to tear her eyes away, unable to think of a reason she should want to. Rose rolled onto her back, eyes closed, lower lip held between her teeth. She grimaced and arched her head back, her throat exposed, pale and luminescent._ _

__The sheets rustled once more, and Jade saw why, the stroke of Rose’s hand between her legs carrying the cloth up then back down. Her legs were propped up, knees wide and inviting to the empty air above her, and the cotton sheets draped over her so sweetly she might as well have been bare. Jade drank her in, lustful in a way she could not recall feeling before. She’d lived this situation before, a friend who couldn’t wait till they were alone, held her awkward peace for the few minutes it took for silence to return, she’d never felt like this before. She’d never felt such a need to join in._ _

__Rose sighed, breathy and high pitched and almost disturbingly candid. Her hips wiggled under her, sheets swaying attractively to show off the display, like a horizontal belly-dancer. The sheets rose again and the girl with them, thrusting herself into the air, inviting anyone to take her. Jade watched with her breath caught in her chest as Rose swallowed at the air hungrily, watched her throat work and her jaw clench as she bucked against an invisible partner. Jade thought back to Rose’s distress at describing her nightmares, thought back to her own distress at being touched in a way she both wanted and wanted not to want for. She knew the pain of desire that was fear, the was lust that was horror._ _

__Jade watched as a hand snaked up under the sheets to squeeze Rose’s breast hard. She could only imagine at the precise ministrations, at the way she might pinch herself at the tips, or dig her nails into her skin. Jade found herself wondering what her friend would taste like, wondering what she could offer, what she might receive if she did. She ached with need, slick already with wanting, but she didn’t dare move a muscle, for fear that the show might be over if Rose heard her shift, and even more that Rose might be angry to know she’d been staring, to see in Jade’s eyes how objectified and lusted after she had been._ _

__Rose, oblivious to her audience, touched herself shamelessly in the moonlight. A moan was barely caught between her teeth, not loud enough to rouse a sleeping friend, but still the sound echoed in the pit of Jade’s stomach, made her burn and shiver at once. Jade watched, eyes wide, as her friend crested under her sheets, watched her lift so high off the bed she might as well have been floating. Her form shook and trembled beneath white cotton as orgasm took her, as she offered herself up to the night and let herself be taken by it. It seemed an eternity before she rested back down, panting and gasping as the wind howled outside. It seemed an eternity again before she finally stilled, a peaceful sleep having hopefully overtaken her. Jade waited an eternity longer before she dared move, slipping out of her makeshift bed and out of the room._ _

__She stumbled in the darkness, clumsy with her arousal, feeling her way to the bathroom, desperate for privacy sufficient to indulge herself. Her hand slipped into her boxers before she made it to the bathroom, and by the time she was pressed up against the sink she was inside herself. Jade tensed around her own finger, grinding into the bathroom counter with the heel of her hand pressing hard into her mound. She brought a hand up to squeeze desperately at her breast, thoughts still racing through her mind of Rose’s body, fantasies of how she’d taste, with Jade’s mouth on her chest. _Or between her legs_ , she thought, moaning quiet and sad and longing. She knew it was wrong, to think that way about her friend, to still be thinking it as she rubbed herself faster, as her voice caught in her throat. That it was wrong made it more enticing, made her need a fire, made her hand electric. She could never be satisfied like this but the tension needed to go, she felt like she’d been holding her breath since she first heard sheets rustle in the darkness. She felt herself approach release, if not satisfaction, and pushed herself further, squeezing herself through her shirt in time with the roll of her hips._ _

__“And here I was expecting you naked,” Roxy’s voice drawled in Jade’s ear. Heat travelled all the way up her back as she felt the older woman press into her. The weight behind her forced her harder against the counter, her hand trapped between herself and the cold marble, as well as between her legs. “Not that this is any kind of disappointing,” Roxy whispered, lips brushing Jade’s ear._ _

__Jade tried to tell her to stammer an apology, but Roxy’s cool hand closed over her mouth before she could take breath to speak. She felt Roxy grind against her, and the movement drove her hand over her need, like Roxy herself was making love to her from behind. A second hand curled round her front to cup her other breast, and in fear she bucked against her captor, trying to win free. Roxy responded by pushing her harder against the counter, easing off and thrusting back in time, a forceful rhythm made of resistance and friction._ _

__Jade couldn’t cry out in fear as she felt a new hand working its way up her shirt, cool to the touch. Her skin tingled as it worked its way inexorably upwards to squeeze at Jade’s breast, fingers strangely long and delicate. Then Jade felt a fourth hand sliding into her underwear to rake red lines in her hip. Then a fifth hand joined the second, and a sixth traced the outside of her ear, a seventh pinched her, an eighth groped._ _

__Relief flooded Jade nearly as quickly as warmth flooded her centre, _this must be a dream_ , she thought. It was more lifelike than any dream she’d had before, but Rose had said as much of her nightmares, hadn’t she? There was no other way to explain the inhuman strength that lifted her up, as she pushed further and further onto her hand, giving herself over to the want, to the need. She wondered absently if this meant she was touching herself in her sleep, if Rose would notice, but she was too far gone to hold herself back anymore, too much in need of a release. In some unspoken way, Jade wondered if she’d mind Rose seeing her like this._ _

__The arms holding Jade changed, moving away and returning colder, sharper, dragging lines across her body. Roxy’s breathing never left her ear, as the older woman panted and whispered obscene things. They sounded so wrong coming from her friend’s mother, telling her how much she obviously wanted this, how this was all she could possibly be, that she understood now why Rose had brought her. Jade moaned into the hand covering her mouth, agreeing, begging, pleading with the thing that could not be Roxy to finish her, to make her come._ _

__The arms in the darkness with Roxy’s voice obliged, biting hard into Jade’s shoulder with blunt teeth, drawing a suppressed scream from her willing captive._ _

__When dawn’s light found her, Jade remembered little of her orgasm, only that she had continued to beg, and to plead for more as the nightmare carried her back to her bed in Rose’s room, even as rapture continued to shake her, to the point that she could feel nothing more than her body churning with coupled satisfaction and need._ _

__Rose still slept fitfully next to her, tossing and turning gently on her bed. Jade considered waking her, but considering her own nightmare thought that might be impolite. Instead she carried herself to the bathroom, tracing the same path she had in her dream, to clean up and get ready for the day. It was there, standing as she had in front of the bathroom mirror, that she saw the scratches coating her arms, the bruises where she she’d been held too tightly, and the bright purple bite mark on her neck._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing gothic horror means I get a free pass for purple prose. it's in the rules, look it up.


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